401A INPUTS

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
January 22, 2026
2 replies
22 views

NEW requirements this year for my 30 year old 401a. Turbotax asks what method I used to calculate the taxable amount. Duh! ---The 1099R says what it is in box 2a. It also asks for 30 year old data on my contributions (I need a time machine.)

I am considering faking this by reducing the gross amount to the taxable amount, but looking for better suggestions.

Thanks, folks.

TurboTax Premier Online

Best answer by SteamTrain

Yeah, I wondered about that when I was entering a 401k that had some small after tax contributions.

There is a question just prior to that setup, that asks:

"For the years you received these distributions, was the total amount shown in the form the amount you paid tax on?"

If box 2a is filled in and shows the proper taxable amount, even if lower than box 1, just say YES to that, and the box 2a value will be used on your 1040 as the taxable amount, assuming there wasn't a rollover or xfer to a Roth involved...((box 5 should likely show the difference between box 1 and box 2a))

The question is probably there for folks who have box 2a empty, and the box checked that the taxable amount was undetermined.

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Yeah, that's likely to cause a bunch of mis-entries by folks by those with different box 1 and box 2a values.

I need to go to last year's software now to see how they worded the question.

SteamTrainAnswer

Level 15

Yeah, I wondered about that when I was entering a 401k that had some small after tax contributions.

There is a question just prior to that setup, that asks:

"For the years you received these distributions, was the total amount shown in the form the amount you paid tax on?"

The question is probably there for folks who have box 2a empty, and the box checked that the taxable amount was undetermined.

_______________________

Yeah, that's likely to cause a bunch of mis-entries by folks by those with different box 1 and box 2a values.

I need to go to last year's software now to see how they worded the question.

____________*Answers are correct to the best of my knowledge when posted, but should not be considered to be legal or official tax advice.*

SteamTrain

Level 15

Sure enough, in prior years, the follow-up question is:

"For the years you received these distributions, was the amount shown in box 2a of the form 1099-R used as the taxable amount?"

Then I can select "Yes, the amount in box 2a was used as the taxable amount"

(and those are their bolding, not mine)

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@dmertz I suspect the new wording for 2025 (eliminating the box 2a words) will cause a whole host of messes for folks who have a 1099-R which actually lists a box 2a value lower than box 1 for (say) after tax contributions.

____________*Answers are correct to the best of my knowledge when posted, but should not be considered to be legal or official tax advice.*